May 28, 2019
As I made my way to the hospital the other day, I heard two words that no one coming to see a loved one in the Intensive Care Unit ever wishes to hear. Screaming over the intercom came the words, “Code Blue”! As I turned the corner to enter ICU, my first thought was with my loved one. Immediately finding myself asking the questions, “Was it them the intercom was blasting for?” As I immediately looked in the ICU, I could see a couple being led out of a room, and the woman was in great distress. As relief came to my mind for the loved one I had in ICU, my concerns immediately turned to the couple who was now facing that call of “Code Blue”. One of the nurses in ICU, who knew my time in the ministry, motioned me over and asked if I would comfort the family, while they worked on their loved one.
As I talked to the couple, I soon learned the woman was the daughter of the one in distress, and the man with her was her husband. Her father had been in the hospital for surgery, and was struggling with low oxygen levels. Levels that had sunk so low, his heart had all but stopped. As the nurses and the doctors worked on her father, I got a chance to pray with the couple. Between prayers, I asked her a little about her dad. His name. His age. His illness. And his faith. As she answered each of my questions, she paused as she came to my last question, reluctant to answer my question about his faith. She told me she did not know her father’s faith. That her father never wanted to talk about faith with her. That her husband and herself both believed in Christ, but what her father believed, she was just not sure. She said she had often wanted to talk to her father about Christ, but had so many times avoided it, fearing she might upset him.
As I started to pray with the couple, I could hear the sounds of concern escalating from her father’s room. Sounds that soon led to a slow, constant electrical sound, as her father’s heart beat for the last time. A sound that left my next prayer to turn to one of comfort and peace for the family, instead of one of healing for her father.
As the day passed, my mind could not escape what had happened with that couple. And throughout the day, I found myself returning to prayer for the couple. Prayers, asking the Lord to keep His arms tightly around them. Prayers of comfort, as more of their family heard the news of her father. And yes, prayers of sorrow for an opportunity lost. An opportunity to share Christ with her father that would never come her way again.
I also said a special thank you to the Lord in that prayer. Thanking Him for the fact, if it had been my loved one the "Code Blue" had been heard for, I could take comfort in knowing it would have been immediately followed by a "Code White". I know, with certainty, that she has such a close relationship with Christ, as she could tell you every freckle and wrinkle on His face. That at the moment she passes from this world, she will forever stand in His presence, clothed in a garment of white, that He will one day place on her(Revelation 3:5).
As I finished my prayer, I was left thinking of other relatives and friends I have. Other loved ones that left me wondering if their "Code Blue" would ever turn to a "Code White". Leaving me to question if I had made the most of the opportunities the Lord had given me to reach them. Had the chances He had given me to show them the love of Christ today, simply turned into procrastinated promises I would share the Good News with them tomorrow?
As a follower of Christ, I must not be afraid to open my mouth and share the Good News. Not finding myself filled with excuses today as to why I cannot share that Good News. or worried I might “offend” them by sharing His truth with them. Remembering my call is simple. I must only be heard as silent as I stand in awe of Christ, not left silent each time I have the chance to share Christ with others.
Christ spoke the words to us, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."(Matthew 9:37). With each opportunity to share Christ with another, I must ask myself, "Am I a worker?". Can Christ count on me to share His Word with another? Or do I just share His Word when the work is fitting to me?
God's Word tells me, "“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”(Romans 10:15). There is no greater beauty I show the eyes of those around me, than the Good News of Christ as it fills me. Nothing more beautiful I can bring to their life than the hope and assurance that can only be found in my Lord. And no more beautiful gift I can give them than to introduce them to the love He has waiting for them. That hope and love serves to constantly remind me, the opportunity I deny to share Christ with another today, is the blessing I may never share with that friend or loved one tomorrow.
As I write this today, my thoughts and prayers are still with that family I prayed with in Intensive Care. And as I pray for this family, my thoughts also turn to the next family that hear the words, “Code Blue”. I pray those two words will not leave them with sorrow as they face the loss of one they love. I pray they will not be filled with remorse for an opportunity lost to spend an eternity in His presence with their loved one. I pray, that as their heart aches for the loss of the one they love, their soul will not also ache for the eternal opportunity they have also lost. And I pray that those two words will drive me today, to make the most of the opportunity to share the hope I find in Him with those around me. Opportunities for Him, that does not find me in fear that each "Code Blue" will leave me filled with the greatest of regret.
Praying you make the most of each opportunity to share Him with another today! 